Helpful Tips on How To Start Jogging
Those who walk for exercise are most likely, of all exercisers, to continue over the years. The reason is simple – walking is easy, relaxing and inexpensive.
Walking at the rate of 2 to 3 kilometres per hour, while it eases stress and reduces mental fatigue, doesn’t really provide enough aerobic exercise to put you on your way to fitness.
You have to stride rather than stroll – hips reaching forward to pull you ahead, arms bent and swinging vigorously to work the upper body muscles.
Whether you walk for fitness or for fun, the following tips may be of help.
* Check with your own doctor, especially if you are over 40, before commencing an exercise programme.
* Wear good shoes and socks. There are expensive running shoes on the market, but a comfortable pair of tennis shoes is satisfactory. Reasonably thick socks can prevent blisters and callosities, offering extra cushioning and absorbing the moisture of perspiration.
* Take things easy. Walking a kilometre in 10 minutes may ‘be a good pace to start with, especiaily if you have not been exercising since you left school. After a few sessions, gradually increase your distance and your speed.
* A daily walk is not essential. Every other day, or three days per week, is enough. And walking for about half an hour each time is sufficient – although if you have the time and the inclination, there is certainly no harm in doing more.
* Before starting, do some gentle warm up exercises to loosen muscles and ligaments, and prevent soreness. Roll your head horn side to side to stretch your neck. Rotate your arms. Reach and stretch with your arms, legs and back.
* Once on the track (or road) walk tall- keep your chin up, shoulders back, chest forward and tummy in. Breathe deeply and rhythmically. Swing your arms – you will feel the benefits in your upper body, and appreciate the extra push of the arm action.
* As you near the end of your exercise period, slow your pace and start relaxing. After you stop, you should cool down’ by doing the same ‘warm up’ exercises you did while starting.
This will loosen tensed muscles, prevent soreness, and help the heart to gradually return to its resting rate.
It was Hippocrates who, over two thousand years ago in ancient Greece, observed “walking is man’s best exercise”.
So, this evening, why don’t you do yourself some good – and take yourself out for a walk.
About This Post
Walking is especially useful for those who want to remain fit and active as they get older. It tones up leg muscles, strengthens the heart by making its pumping more efficient, and decreases the risk of heart disease. Like other weight-bearing exercise, regular walking helps prevent the bone weakening problems of Osteoporosis, which often affect women after the age of menopause.
Furthermore there is evidence to show that walking for exercise reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Weight control is one of the main reasons for people taking to walking. An hour of walking at a moderate pace (about 6000 metres, or 15 circuits around the average sports track per hour) will burn about 400 calories.
For many who started with enthusiasm, there was a tendency to overdo. One to two months after wholeheartedly commencing on an exercise program, the running shoes or badminton racquet were back on top of the cupboard; victims of injury, laziness or waning interest. Some people never even got started – the effort involved was too formidable and exercise seemed fit only for the highly committed sportsman.
Walking however offers hope and rewards for over-enthusiasts and lethargies alike. Researchers have now shown that physical fitness can be achieved even by exercising at a slow non-intense pace. It is claimed that exercising at only 60% of maximum heart rate for a longer period of time is as good as pushing one’s heart to the hitherto recommended 70 to 80% of its maximum rate. Instead of “going for the burn” in aggressive American style, exercisers are now being encouraged to work out for longer periods at less intensity.
When one runs, one’s lower limb absorbs four to six times one’s weight with each step. With walking, each step puts just one and a half times the body weight on the leg. This leads to fewer injuries in the long run (no pun intended) and spares the walker’s spine and joints the jarring impact of jogging, which is especially felt on a hard surface like a tarred road.
The trend towards physical fitness began over a decade ago, when jogging became fashionable for people who were concerned about staying in shape. More and more of us began taking our doctor’s advice seriously for a change, aiming for three calorie-burning, heart strengthening sessions of physical exercise each week. Among the activities favored were jogging, aerobic dancing, cycling, racquet games and swimming.